Our students are out of this world as Limerick transition year pupils’ project is tested in space

The space students: Jamie O’Connell, Jonathon Roche, Kevin Hanley and Jason Hannon pictured at the University of Limerick

The team, comprising Jamie O’Connell, Jonathon Roche, Kevin Hanley and Jason Hannon, have been announced as the winners of The Only Way is Up competition, which gave students the opportunity to submit experiments to be flown to, and carried out on, the International Space Station.

Co-ordinator: Dr Norah Patten

The winning project will investigate the effects that microgravity has on the solidification of reinforced concrete and will spend 30 days orbiting the Earth. The experiment is scheduled for lift-off on the Orbital Sciences Orb-2 mission to the ISS this May. The experiment will then be returned to the students, allowing them to directly compare the results to a ground-controlled experiment. Dr Norah Patten, communications and outreach manager for the Irish Centre for Composites Research (IComp) at the University of Limerick, is co-ordinating the project.

She said: ‘Space provides an ideal platform to foster interest and enthusiasm in young minds in Ireland. This project has allowed Irish students the opportunity to develop an actual space experiment and for the first time launch it to the space station. It is a clear indication of where space is at – through our partnership with NanoRacks LLC, Irish students can finally put their research into space.’

The winner was selected by a team of international judges. Dr Patten said ‘the creativity and thought process from the students was incredible – they did a great job and should be very proud. This project has opened space up to Irish students; it has allowed them an opportunity to develop and create real space research and will hopefully encourage more young students in Ireland toward this fascinating area’. And members of the public can follow ‘Ireland’s first secondary school experiment in space’ on a special YouTube channel.

The Only Way is Up is funded by Science Foundation Ireland, Discover Science and Engineering, the Irish Centre for Composites Research and the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Limerick.

The competition is taking place as a result of a partnership with NanoRacks LLC, which works with NASA under a Space Act Agreement. The aim of the competition is to allow everyone to conduct research, design experiments, learn from mistakes, and even make breakthroughs.